Blue Scales
by TheInnocentMage
Summary: As a young merman, Percy's inquisitiveness often gets the better of him, but when he accidentally becomes wounded by ghost nets he is 'saved' and taken to the Demigod Marine Rescue and Rehabilitation centre. At first he's terrified, but then the centre's employees turn out to be something of a curiosity. Percico/Nicercy, Percy/Jason, Percy/Will
1. Chapter 1 - Ocean's secrets

**Blue Scales**

 **CH1 - Ocean's secrets**

Summary: As a young merman, Percy's inquisitiveness often gets the better of him, but when he accidentally becomes wounded by ghost nets he is 'saved' and taken to the Demigod Marine Rescue and Rehabilitation centre. At first he's terrified, but then the centre's employees are something of a curiosity. Percico/Nicercy, Percy/Jason, Percy/Will

 **...**

Bubbles race behind Percy, left in the wake of his beating tail. He swims wildly, blindly without a second thought to where he was heading, his attention was solely on the orcas in pursuit. Black and white dart closer and Percy fears for his life. He twists left, narrowly missing the sharp jaws of the alpha male. He tears forward, but the orcas waste no time adjusting their course to catch up with him.

Each movement causes his fins ache and burn with fatigue. Percy continues to swim against the current and barely notices the dark shadows looming in the distance. Behind him, hunting calls, whines and clicks echo in the open ocean. The pod knows if he reaches the safety of the reef, their next meal will be able to escape. So the orcas push faster and so does Percy.

As he swims closer, rocky outcrops seemingly rise from the murky waters below. Each one growing larger and closer together than the next. He watches breathlessly as fish dart out of the way and hide from sight. Percy cries out in terror. He doesn't want to die here, not without saying goodbye to his mother or father or even Triton. The reef is fast approaching and Percy listens as a few of his pursuers slow down and back off. Too afraid that the sharp corals would cut and maim their flesh.

The tip of one the orca's noses brushes against his fragile tail-fin and the predictor's jaw snap shut as Percy barely manages to squeeze between tightly woven corals and rocky ledges - a place they cannot follow. It's a near miss but his heart refuses to slow even as his vision blurs and the adrenaline leeches out of his veins. Percy stops to let out a string of mocking clips in retaliation to the frustrated screeches from the orcas.

Sighing in relief, the young merman floats down slightly before continuing warily into the forest of colours. Their silhouettes at the reef's edge soon disappear from his line of sight. Swaying side to side with each beat of his fins, Percy feels every second of his body's protests to any and all movement. He gasps as something snags his tail stopping him from swimming any further.

Percy twirls in the water to free himself but as his pupils slowly narrow into focus, he begins to notice the vibrate orange cords. They spiral and web, caught on coral and bob gently in the waters. Percy recognises it instantly. Waste left behind by humans that steal their food and leave their homes in ruin.

Beating his fin in anger, Percy swims in any direction trying to break free. Nothing seems familiar. The more he struggles, the more he becomes ensnared and the tighter the cords wrap around his body. He emits a hollow cry for help. Panic grips his chest as his breaths become shorter and shallower.

Percy wasn't the only one caught either. A few baby sharks wiggle futilely to escape their binds. Unable to breathe without swimming, they would soon suffocate and die. So Percy cried for them as well, but no one answered his calls.

 **...**

Night fell and the waters were quickly consumed with a still darkness. The abandoned fishing wires lay dormant, stringing up Percy and the corpses of the sharks. His breaths were weak and drawn out. Throat soar from his screaming and tight from pain tolerance. The cords had sliced into his sensitive scales and ripped through part of his tail. His blood twirled sluggish from the cuts and Percy gritted his teeth to keep in control. The night drifted on and finally exhaustion overwhelmed the pain allowing Percy to drift into a fitful sleep.

 **...**

Waking up to the sight of three humans was something even more terrifying than fleeing from hungry orcas. Percy screeches and twists, but with his body tightly bound there is no give. Their rough hands reach out to him and streams of bubbles pulse out of their scary faces. He remembers his mother telling of their monstrous appearance but up close they were the stuff of nightmares. They cut away the orange cords only to tie him up again in scarier black ones. Slowly, they pull Percy into a net with large chunky interwoven threading.

The next thing the young merman knows is the water's surface. Shivers rack Percy's body as the cold air meets his delicate skin and badly cut scales. They lower him down into their boat and then hands are on him. Something strings his arm like a jellyfish and suddenly a warm floaty feeling floods his inside. Percy huddles in on himself, curling his tail slightly sideways on instinct. His whole body feels really, really good and weightless. He whines as the blissfully feeling travels up into his head. Percy absently notices being lifted again into shallow lukewarm water, barely enough to cover half his body. The net is still underneath him, but one by one the black restraints are removed. His eyelids become heavier and Percy is just able to make out the dark figure of a human carefully wrapping the soft net around him again. Soon after the light from above seems to disappear, the weightless feeling progresses to tiredness. Percy cannot resist the sweet call of sleep before his eyes slip shut and his rapid breaths even out.

 **...**

 **Review and let me know what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Wounded creatures

**Blue Scales**

 **CH2 - Wounded creatures**

 **Notes: Thank you everyone who followed, favourited or reviewed! Your support keeps me inspired :)**

 **...**

Everything is white. Percy notices that above all else when he wakes. The strange clearness of the water, more so then the coves he remembers from his migration south to with the moon, becomes his second point of interest. The pleasant salty-freshness fills his chest as he stretches out.

His fins flare up in pain and Percy instantly curls in on himself. His scales are sore and white where they were beginning to heal over. With no predators, and more importantly humans, in sight Percy relaxes a little. Slowly and carefully as to not further aggravate his injuries, Percy tries to swim forward and investigate his surroundings. He runs his fingers across the smooth floor that curves into a bean-shape wall. It doesn't take long for Percy to realise he's caged. After circling the perimeter twice, he stops close to one side and sinks to lay on the bottom. He frowns at how much harder he has to work just to swim at a casual speed. Pulling himself up into a sitting position, Percy inspects his tail.

The young Mer whimpers at the sight of two elongated tears in his fin. No wonder he couldn't swim properly. He reaches down to touch the wounds only to notice a red band around his wrist. Percy immediately brings the foreign object to his mouth and tries biting it off with his fangs. It's no use. The band stretches slightly but not enough to slip over his hand. Percy glowers at it from a few more moments before giving up and turns his attention back to his tail. The damage is too much for it ever fix itself. If he were to cross paths with those orcas again, he wouldn't be escaping with his life.

Above the light is dim and Percy wonders if it is dawn or dusk. He waits. But when the waters grow neither darker nor lighter, Percy begins to panic. He risks approaching the surface. Shadows dance just out of his line of sight and Percy's pupils narrow in unease. With great effort he swims up and breaches the top of the pool. Only exposing his head and shoulders to the air. His eyes take a moment to adjust and Percy sees that the sky has been covered up completely. In fact everything looks wrong. The lights attached to unfamiliar ceiling are too large and in the incorrect order to be sky starfish.

Percy twists on the spot, looking across at the platform expanding out from the pool of water he is trapped within. The ground hits rectangular walls in all directions. He's in a cage within a cage. Percy forms a string of low clicks in distress.

"Hey, hey. Shhhhhh, none of that now." Cooed a gentle voice. "You're safe."

Percy turns again and froze in shock. A human. But it couldn't be? The male standing towards the back of the platform, half hidden in shadows, looked nothing like the humans he'd seen in the water. His electric blue eyes were focused intently only on Percy and he sighed running his fingers through his sandy blond hair. Percy backed away until he hit the side of the pool.

Slowly the human paced forward, closing the distance between them. He knelt down far enough from the water's edge that Percy wouldn't be able to reach him if he tried to attack.

"I know you don't understand what I'm saying. But it's been proven your species can be very emotionally intellective. I know you can empathise with the tone of a person's voice." He breathed a sigh and Percy debated hiding under the water's surface. "I won't hurt you, no one here will. This place is a marine rescue and rehabilitation centre. You had been hurt pretty bad when they found you, so you've been put in isolation to recover, but you might have to wait a while before the vet can make a final judgement call on your condition."

Percy clicked as the human's words. He didn't understand the gibberish the man was spouting, yet he sounded generally sad for some reason or another. And may the sea Gods have mercy on him, but Percy actually felt a little sorry for this human. He obviously was trying to convey something and failing miserably.

Percy head snapped at the sound of a door opening. He watched as another human male stepped out and moved towards the first.

"Jason." He said quietly.

The first nodded in acknowledgement looking surprised and then turned to look at Percy again. "I didn't think you'd be this quick." He said nervously. "So, what's the verdict?"

The second male looked really sad as well and Percy wonders if the other, Jason he'd been called, is upset about the same thing.

"I don't- there's nothing I can do, Jason. His caudal fin has been severed twice by those ghost nets. It's too delicate to stitch back together, it'll just tear anew. He won't be able to swim properly, he'll be off-balance and weaker. I-I... don't think he'll survive if we release him."

The human looked so close to tears, Percy was almost tempted to try to comfort him. Almost.

Instead Jason put his hand on the other's shoulders.

"Will, it's okay this isn't your fault. You've done everything you can and we'll look after him from now on."

The other blond human nodded slowly and smiled tightly. "He's the first male to be ever found alive. The press are going crazy, we've got aquariums all over the world offering the centre money to take him." As he turned to face the Mer, Percy got a much better look at the human. His skin was lightly tanned like he'd been basking in the sun. "You should see Hazel fight them off, it's really quite something." He smiled.

"She's scary when she's angry, just like her father." Jason laughed.

"Don't even," Will giggled. "Director Hades is terrifying on the best of days."

Percy had enough of the human gibberish and dived back down into the pool. Although they were watching him, it was clear they had no alter intentions. He was scared and anxious and bored. With his tail still buzzing in pain, Percy wished to see his mother and have her embrace him so tightly it feels like she'll never let go.

His eyes flickers downwards, inquisitively watching as two shadows grow on the bottom of the tank. He looks up to see the distorted form of the two humans. Curious, Percy favoured his hands instead of his tail to push up to the surface. His eyes met with the slightly shorter of the two humans. Jason nudged the blond.

"Hey, Will he's looking right at you."

"So?" Drawled Will sarcastically. "You're suppose to be his trainer."

Jason sighed, looking quite dejected. "I can't help but think you or Nico would do a better job than me. I'm not really good with the dolphins, how is this going to be any better?"

"Just try. You haven't even given him a chance yet."

The two humans looked back to Percy and all a sudden he was all too aware of the weight of this situation. He was trapped, wounded, unable to get back to the ocean and at the mercy of humans. Which surprisingly looked nothing like how his mother had described. Instead they looked more like his kin minus the ears, fangs and tail. Percy wonders how these creatures have managed to defend themselves with no physical defensive traits to speak of. When Jason, the taller blond stands and walks around the pool closer to him, Percy sends a string of aggressive warning clicks his way. The blond's eyes widen and he looks back to his friend, who nods encouragingly.

Jason tries a different approach. "Hey, hey shhhhhhh, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you hungry?"

The young merman cocks his head to the side because his tone sounds questioning.

Jason muffles a little laugh and moves to pick up a small metal bucket. "You're too cute, they'll love you."

Percy screeches at the rich smell of cod hitting his sensitive nose, not truly releasing how utter starving he feels until the thought of food crossed his mind. All notions fear slowly draining away. Taking from humans probably wasn't the safest idea, but he was suddenly so damn hungry, so his worries was rapidly pushed down by the desire to eat.

"Calm down, calm down." The blonde laughed, sending a small smile Will's way.

"Least he's got an appetite, that's more than I'd hoped for at this stage."

Jason chucks a fish into the pool. The frighten creatures whizzes off and Percy dives after it. He catches the poor thing in his fangs and bites down to ends its suffering quickly. A splash sounds above and another sliver of silver zooms past. Percy lungs for the second fish, catching it as effortless as the first. Then a third and a fourth. By the fifth, Percy just lazily watched as it torpedoed away to the other side of the pool. He leisurely beats his fins and breaks the surface gracefully. Small beads of water drip from his short-black curls down onto his face. _Maybe humans weren't as bad as the stories told?_

Looking up, his eyes honed in as both Jason and Will made their way back to the exist. Neither human seemed to noticed he'd re-surfaced.

"Generally a Mer his age should be eating twice as much, but after everything I can't say I'm at all surprised." Will explained. "It's the stress, once he's settle down and a little more stronger. Good luck, because he's gonna be quite a handful, Jason."

The door shut behind them and all Percy could hear was the muffed response from Jason. Instead, he quickly diverted his curiosity into wickedly chasing the terrified cod around the pool.

 **...**

 **Merry Christmas! Review and let me know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - Shadows in the water

**_Blue Scales 3_**

 ** _Chapter 3 - Shadows in the Water_**

 ** _Notes: Thank you to everyone who has followed, favourited or reviewed! Specially thanks to ChubuPeng for all your advice, I appreciate the help and to Guest, StoneyPonyFWF, Mathilda208, and Psyche Castle, I'm so glad you guys like the story so far, I hope the rest is just as enjoyable! To MysticSage96, firstly thank you and yes, I do have a similar idea for something like that later in this fic, but let's just say it won't go as planned ;) To MagnusChase21, putting Percy in a tank with other sea creatures is certainty an interesting idea and one I'd like to use in this story. xxx_**

 ** _..._**

Time passes, but in this place of stagnant light, Percy struggles to deduce exactly how much. The water hums gently and after some investigating, he finds a small grated-hole that blows out a weak current. It feels good against his sensitive scales and helps ease the occasional flares of pain. Percy soon settles next to the peculiar moving water which quickly becomes his favourite spot. He decides to keep the cod for company, it's weary presence was better than being completely alone.

So far the humans had not returned.

Percy tells himself he's not quite bothered one way or another, but the isolation grows that little bit less bearable with each second. He misses the ocean, the saltiness on his lips and in his lungs. He misses the way the currents drag in around like a piece of free-floating kelp. But most of all, Percy misses his mother. Maybe it's in his head, maybe he's just imagining it, but he feels as if he's forgetting a little more of her, the longer they're apart. Percy cries more than once and each time longer than the last. Even the cod curiously peaks around to see why the scary Mer is making such sad sounds.

So when the door above opens, Percy wastes no time pushing off the tank's floor with his hands and gliding effortlessly to the surface. The shadows cast from absent light cause him to squint as two figures approach. Cautiously, he moves to opposite side of the pool, and attempts to grab hold of the ledge for support. His damaged tailfin fails to keep him steady in the waters, and Percy almost sinks before he reaches his destination.

The Mer's eyes narrow to slits at the arrival of a new face. Jason stands anxiously beside shorter a dark-haired boy with deathly pale skin. Percy imagines he must be sickly and perhaps underfed. With what little pity he could muster, he feels sorry for the boy. But his attention quickly snaps back to Jason as the blond steps forward. It's then Percy notices the silver bucket in the human's hand. His mind has swiftly associated the object with food and Percy clicks in anticipation.

Jason laughs and just like before kneels down close to the pools edge, but just out of Percy's reach. "I'm got some good news for you." He smiles. "The centre set up a Twitter page for you and held a vote for your name." Jason looks back to the smirking dark-haired boy before continuing. " _Annnd..._ " He drew out, setting the bucket on the floor. "Lucky for you, Fishy McFishFace came in at a near second and Perseus won overall."

The other muffles a laugh in his sleeve, and Percy frowns at their teasing tones. They better not be laughing at him.

"Jason, you do realise he cannot understand what you're saying, right? He probably just thinks you're mocking him." The brunet scolds playfully, shaking his head and slowly edging closer to Percy like he was some kind of feral animal. Frightened and skittish. Percy was almost offered. He dips lower into the water in retaliation, and the boy freezes, looking uncertainly at Jason. The blond waves his hand up and down, gesturing for him to crouch as well.

"This is Nico. He generally works with the dolphins, but he's gonna be helping me out from now on." He smiles warmly and Percy coos at his tone. Jason nudges the other human. " _Awwwww_ , that's good Perseus, I like _Neeks_ too."

At that last comment, the human that was not Jason blushes. "Please, don't call me that. If Hazel or Leo hear that nickname, I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life." He sighes.

Percy tunes out on their conversation and makes a decision, diving back under the surface. He just catches as the human's faces drop and Jason calls out.

 ** _"Wait!"_**

It's too late. He's under the water and searching diligently. Eyes that clash somewhere between green and blue lock with small silvery ones. Percy smiles revealing sharp canines. The cod zooms away terrified and the Mer gives pursuit. Change of plans. His little (would be) friend just became dinner. With a splash and a couple of sharp turns, Percy seizes the fish in his mouth and bites hard. Blood drizzles out into the clear waters and wets his tongue. The metallic taste causes his stomach to rumble, but Percy ignores the feeling in order to carry out his idea.

A high, painful sound much akin to a dolphin's whistle, enters his ears and Percy winces. He looks around underwater for source and realises it came from above. Carefully, he releases the cod from his teeth, and grabs the corpse in one hand. Again using his other hand, pushes off the smooth, white floor and back to the surface.

"See, he comes when he's called. I said the whistling would work." Jason nods in Percy's direction and smiles. The young Mer starts to wonder if this human ever gets tired of being so happy all the time.

The dark-haired boy next to him sighs. "Don't fool yourself, Superman, he came because he wanted too. Not, I repeat not, because you _'called'_ him."

Percy listens to their voices as he weakly swims closer. After much effort, he's at their side of the pool and breathing heavily. Both humans shuffle backwards slightly when he extends out a hand. More specifically, the one holding the dead fish. Expectantly, Percy offers it to the pale, dark-haired boy. He waits, staring between the human's wide eyes.

"Nico." Jason warns. The uncertainty lacing his tone did not surprise the Mer in the slightest. He feels the same way about them.

Still, Percy grows frustrated that his gift is being rejected, and hisses dangerously. However, a few seconds later the boy, Nico, reaches out weary-eyed, with Jason gripping his upper, and gently takes the food from his hold. He clicks happily. The brunet looks like he needs to eat, and Percy wonders if it's because his family aren't here anymore to protect him.

Percy shivers. His mind gets lost in thoughts of his family as he struggles to swim across to the opposite side again. He sinks a little, but still manages to get hold of the ledge. There's silence in the air and shock on their faces as Nico pulls back next to Jason and stares down at the fish. For the longest moment Percy starts to wonder if what he's done is wrong.

Then Nico smiles. It's unexpected and Percy is captivated.

 _"Thank you..."_

His voice barely reaches a whisper and something akin to grief shines in his eyes. Percy tilts his head confused, and strings together a few consoling clicks. He hadn't meant to upset Nico.

From beside the brunet, Jason laughs breaking the tension. _"Awwww, shhhhhhh._ It's okay, little one, it's okay. See, Neeks? Even Perseus thinks you're not eating enough."

"I said stop it." Nico bit back, still looking down at the cod. The blond to shakes his head and moves his hand to the dark-haired boy's shoulder.

"And secondly," Jason continued. "I told Will you'd be better at this than me. He already likes you more."

The brown-eyed boy groans, finally looking up from inspecting the slimy fish in his hand. "He doesn't like me better, Jason, he probably just thinks you're more annoying."

Jason playfully pushes Nico, then hesitates while reaching for the bucket. "If he left that fish alive, maybe he's not hungry."

"Don't worry," Nico reassures. "Just put them in the water. He'll eat them when he's ready, that's why we give them to him alive. Remember what Will's been saying? This whole situation is extremely stressful, he's wounded and confused. These things take time. When the centre takes in a new dolphin, the first thing we do is give it space. You know, time to settle. We really should of fed him and left already. It's your fault for wasting so much time." He teases.

"It's kinda difficult to handle this ideally, considering the centre has never housed a Mer before." Jason muses.

"And therein lies the problem." Nico sighs. "But in a couple of days, we're got that expert from New York coming to visit. What was her name again? Dr...?"

 _"_ Dr. Chase?" Jason suggests helpfully.

Nico gentle lays the fish on the floor beside him. "Yeah, that's the one. She'll examine Perseus and make a final judgment call if rehabilitation is possible."

"A second opinion, then?"

"Exactly," the brunet nods. "Will's the best marine vet in California. But even he needs help sometimes, and in the last few days he's been in contact with her so she has been instructing him best she can. She says it's unlikely, but it may be possible for her to repair the damage to his fins."

Jason smiles. "Let's hope so. If she can, then I guess we'll start on a rehabilitation program instead of the integrating one."

"That's why we haven't moved him to the exhibit tank yet. If it's deemed recovery could lead to his release, he'll have to stay in isolation to keep him wild as possible. Dad's words, not mine." Nico shrugs.

The blond lets out a laugh. "Thought that sounded a little blunt, even for you Neeks."

"I said put a can in it, superman." Nico warns and rolls his eyes. "Anyway, you'll never guess how much one of the overseas aquariums offered us to take Perseus?"

"Surprise me." Jason bates.

"Eight-hundred thousand."

The blond gave a low whistle. "You're kidding." He smiles.

Percy cringes and dips lower into water. The sound is raw on his ears, he hopes Jason doesn't do it again.

"Not at all." Nico chuckles. "Hazel was on the phone for three hours trying to explain, in the least rudest way possible, that we couldn't accept. She went with the excuse that shipping a Mer that distance would be detrimental to his health. But Gods, they were persistent."

As the two human males continued their conversation, Percy's face drops a little more with their every word. The pair of them were worse than shrimps and those guys don't _ever_ shut up. He cries out in annoyance. _What happened to his dinner?_ The boys look round, and guilt flashes over Jason's features.

"Right! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Here you go, Perseus." The blonde fishes his hand in the metal bucket, pulling out a darkish mackerel. Percy sniggers, watching the human struggle to keep the flailing fish in hand long enough to throw it into the pool.

 _Immediately as the creature touches the water, Percy shoots after it. Big mistake. He twists his tail, causing the muscles to seize up. Curling in on himself, Percy sinks to the tank's floor. In pain, he bites down on lower lip to stifle a scream. He ignores the splashes which follow, and catches a glimpse of five small mackerel swimming away._

 _Shadows move above and Percy glances up to see Jason leaning over the pool's edge. His face is distorted by the water's surface, but Percy's too distressed to worry about the human staring at him. The young Mer fails to muffle his cry this time, acutely aware of Jason's warped voice yelling at Nico._

 ** _"Get Will!"_**

 ** _..._**

 ** _Happy New Year! Please review and let me know what you think._**


	4. Chapter 4 - Assets, not animals

**Blue Scales**

 **Chapter 4 - Assets, not animals**

...

 _I'm so sorry for not updating in so long, I have really wanted to continue this story but I got some bad results in my mocks and had to focus on studying. Thank you for your kind, inspiring reviews, it's a joy to receive such wonderful praise :) I apologise to everyone who has been waiting for an update, I'll try to keep up now._

...

 _Four days later_

Percy tracks their movements above the water from the safety of the bottom of the pool. Every so often he flicks his tail in growing curiosity. Humans have gathered. _Specifically_ Jason, Will, a tall scary man, and a female with neat, blonde curls. She had knelt down at the edge of the pool, her hand half-submerged in the water and holding a dead mackerel. And _to be honest_ , Percy has seen barnacles more appetising. So, unsurprisingly, she had remained futile in her attempt to beckon him closer.

Again, she wiggles the dead fish above him, but it doesn't make the rotting corpse any more inviting. Percy stays unyielding, unmoving as he hovers at the pool floor. Looks can be deceiving and pretty fish often carry poison, so in spite of her beauty, Percy doesn't trust this female.

Time floats by and finally she relents, sighs and redraws her hand. Percy watches as she turns to look over her shoulder, and runs her other hand through her hair in exasperation.

"Is there any way you come get him to come closer? I can't get a good look at his fins, let alone assess the damage." She sighs.

Percy watches as another shadow grows across the water surface, just before Jason appears next to the female. He seems nervous, his voice a little shaky as his eyes glance hesitantly at the tall, scary man.

"Dr. Chase," he begins. "I can try but he's been skittish from start. Any interactions we've- I've had so far, have been on his terms." He turns to Will. "Maybe you could go get Nico?"

Will nods and disappears from sight.

"Okay, I'll wait.'

Her tone is flat and calm as she smiles in understanding, then stands up to step back as Jason kneels down.

The blond whistles and Percy counts his lucky starfish that it's not the same painful, screechy one as before. He beats his sore tail and glides sideway, leaving his much loved position by the metal grate.

Patches of his fin are covered in white, soft _seaweed?_ perhaps, Percy's not sure, he's never seen it before. But ever since Will put them on, he's scales haven't been aching or itching as much. He reaches one side of the pool and watches as Jason slowly, tentatively follows.

The blond whistles again and Percy clicks back his annoyance. He's not a bloody dogfish. The Mer decides to stubbornly remain just below the water's surface for that. Heavier footsteps sound above causing Percy's sensitive ears to prick up on instinct and memories to flash before his eyes.

 _Footsteps on concrete and Percy can hear Jason speaking in gentle, soothing tones. Yet, it does little to fight the pain flaring in his tail. He withers around on the tank's floor, crying out because he remembers when he was little. Only three winters old, and he hurt his tail like this riding the riptides. His father had to carry him around in his arms for weeks, while Triton teased him something awful._

 _Percy bares a glance to his tail. The hurts on the inside, but damage the ghost nests left doesn't help much either. Bands of newly forming scales are sore and tender. Percy tries his best not itch and ruin what has already healed. The next moment, two splashes sound either side of the Mer. He's terrified. Two humans enter the water and he shuffles away, baring his fangs instinctively._

Jason gently splashes the water his hand pulling Percy back to the here and now. The young Mer looks up and his chest floods with relief. It's not Will or the new female, it's _Nico_. His self-appointed new favourite human since the incident. Pushing down his sulking for another time, Percy beats his tail to breach the surface. Droplets of water run down his face and cling desperately to his raven-kissed hair.

Nico smiles. "Hey there, Perseus." Then nudges Jason with his elbow. "See I could you told."

The blond made a disgruntled sound but otherwise didn't respond.

"Dr. Chase." A very stern voice called causing Percy to duck down a little as the scary man continues to talk. "We haven't got all day, if you'd please begin."

Nico nods when his eyes meet the female's and Percy wonders what they're planning. He watches as the dark-haired boy shuffles away from Jason and then proceeds to call him over. Percy stares blinking. Was Nico serious? He'd already done as they'd asked and not yet received one little fish. He clicks lowly and Nico laughs.

"Just this once today huh, Persues? I won't ask anything else of you."

They stand off, Nico's eyes radiating nothing but patience locked with Percy's irritated ones, for a while anyway.

Percy remains uneasy, he doesn't understand why Nico moved to the other side of the pool and expects him to follow. He frowns and looks back as Nico calls him again. Finally, the Mer gives in. Swimming over, Percy grabs hold of the pool's edge in front of the dark haired human and lets his tail rest just under the water's surface, where it is clearly visible to those watching him.

Somethings bleeps again and again and again. Percy looks curiously for the source. It sounds strangely like a bird, but _wrong_.

"Dr. Chase, I must take this. I trust you can continue without my presence?" The tall man says.

She nods. "Yes."

After he leaves, Jason lets out a small sigh.

"My dad's not that bad." Nico chuckles.

"Neeks, you have no idea."

"Suddenly I'm Neeks again? Maybe I should get my dad to come back."

"Oh, no Gods _please_ no, Nico."

"I'm joking, Jay." He laughs.

As Percy tries to track their conversation, he barely noticed as the the female moves to kneel down beside Jason.

"I trust you, Dr. Solace, but your boss hired me to give a second opinion. I don't want to offend you or anything."

"None taken, I'm just glad you could make it in such short notice." Will smiles genuinely.

"There's going to be scarring." She tones absently. "Even from here I can see the damage to the caudal fin is too extensive. I'd like to get in the water for a closer look but if he's as skittish as you say, I don't want to risk him lashing out on one of us from fear." She explains. "You were right not to go ahead with any surgical correction. He's swimming is off kilter, but given everything, he's adjusting nicely to the change. It won't be easy. He'll have trouble moving about now and again, I'm sure of it. Perhaps some sort of light-weight plastic cast could be fitted over the fin, attached at the caudal peduncle...?" She trails off.

"It's definitely a possibility." Will muses. "It would stop any drag and protect the weaker area when he swims."

"So what's the verdict?" Jason pipes up.

"He won't be able to survive in the wild." She says flatly.

Nico tentatively reaches out to pet Percy's head and the Mer dives quicker than a fish which has spotted a seagull. That's enough, he's reached his limit. Humans are still scary and untrustworthy. His minds continues to play the days before as he settles by the grate and closes his eyes.

 _Percy falters slightly, realising it's Jason and Will, but his hesitation is quickly forgotten. Percy growls a desperate warning for them to keep back, he doesn't want them close. Despite his aching tail, he beats his fins and slips past Will's legs to other end of the bean-shaped pool. He's caged with nowhere to go, but he's ready to defend himself. Looking up, Percy sees they're both standing so the water reaches just above the human's waists._

 _For a long time neither move, while Percy uncurls and curls in on himself. Trying to overcome the pain. Then Will lowers himself under the surface. He slowly approaches, despite Percy's bared fangs and hissing. The frightened Mer pushes himself further against the white wall as Will gradually reaches out his hand. As the blond's fingers brush lightly over the bottom half of his tail, Percy flinches and closes his eyes._

 _At first he freezes, but his tense muscles relax slightly when Will presence offers no further harm to his wounds. The touch is so gentle Percy can barely tell if he's initiating contact, or if he's not. However, when Will's hand shifts along his tail, brushing over patches of lost scales, Percy reacts on instinct and moves to bite him. The blond pulls his arm out if the way just in time, and pushes away angled towards the surface._

 _Carefully, they both retreat to the other side of the pool in a non-threatening manner. Jason helps Will out of the water, before jumping out himself._

 _Percy settles down after_ , _he curls into a ball and let's sleeping fish sleep._

 **Ф**

When Percy is finally bored enough to resurface, the tall scary man has returned. He's yelling at Jason, and his tone causes the Mer to lower his ears back in caution.

"And I'll remind you again Mr. Grace, that this creature will not be leaving this place. He belongs to me as does every other asset here."

"But at another aquarium, where there are others of his kind, Percy would stand a better chance at recovery, sir." Jason pleads. "Will said himself that due to the tears in his fin, Perseus has favoured using his hands to move around rather than his tail." He explains. "Mer generally swim constantly. If they're not sleeping or resting, staying still under the water is when you know something's wrong. He needs others of his kind to help him learn again."

" _Don't_ lecture me, _boy_." Hades yells causing Jason to flinch back. "You're the trainer or what am I paying you for? I want him ready for the exhibit tank in one week, if you can't do that, I'll find someone else who can!"

The man storms out, leaving Jason standing alone. Percy keen eyesight notices the small trembling of the boys fingers. He clicks and the blond spins round in surprise.

"Perseus! I'm so sorry I didn't see you there." Jason exclaims and rubs away the water collecting in his eyes. "Wait here. I'll go get you something to eat."

The young Mer watches as the human hurries away, leaving him alone with nothing but the gentle lapping of water for company.

 **...**

 **Please review and let me know what you think :)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Terrible Training

**BLUE SCALES V**

 **CHAPTER 5 ~ TERRIBLE TRAINING**

…

Percy thinks it's night. At least for the first time, it _feels_ like night. The starfish lights above have dimmed, the waters have lost that unusual hum and there's a stillness he just cannot seem to shake. He's seen nine square meals since the blonde female visited and Nico had been acting strangely. Most of his dead scales have shed, leaving fresh silvery ones in their wake. With time, those would turn blue like the rest of his tail and Percy positively trills at the sight. A few strips of white scarring remain, but they're neither itchy nor painful so Percy doesn't push his luck. They may fade, more likely, they may not.

The white seaweed Will wrapped around his body had loosened and fallen off. Percy feels better for it too. The young Mer even saved another fish for Nico, that human still doesn't look like he's eating enough.

Out of the corner of his eye there's a silver flash. Percy lips ignite with a smile as he swims to chase it, practicing to use his tail now his scales have mostly healed. And despite the tears in his fins, Percy manages quite well. Teaching himself how to once again balance in the water, and for the most part, he avoids sinking. It tires him quickly, but the Mer has no qualms about curling up, falling asleep, and saying goodbye to this place for a few sweet hours. He dreams of his mother and the ocean. A place that seems a little more unreachable with every new day.

But then things change, and rather abruptly, Percy might add. The lights above blaze on without any warning, waking the Mer prematurely from his rest. He sits up and rubs his eyes, watching absently as his fin waves about in the strong currents now blowing from the grate. Letting out a not-so-subtle yawn, Percy stretches for good measure as he swims to the opposite side of the pool and waits. There's movement above, but no indications of which of the humans has come to visit him. Percy hopes it's Will or Nico.

And suddenly, a horrid screechy whistely sound begins.

Percy clamps his hands over his delicate ears and hisses in pain. It's sounds again and again until finally he cannot take anymore. Speeding to the surface, the young Mer snarls wildly at the first silhouette that comes into focus and causes a big splash with his tail. The whistling stops and Percy watches as a tiny, orange-coloured object falls from Jason's mouth and bounces from the cord around his neck. A slow clapping starts from behind. Percy looks past the blond to Nico, who's wearing an irritated smirk.

"Wow," he drawls, "someone looks impressed to see you."

Jason sighs and doesn't turn back. "Shouldn't you be with the Dolphins, Neeks?"

"And miss this?" He retorts sarcastically. "Not. For. The. World."

Jason frowns and Percy almost forgives him for the disturbance when he sees the metal bucket of fish. Yet, on a second glance the human seems agitated, nervous even. That alone puts Percy on edge.

" _Sooooo_. . . we're gonna try something different today, Percy." The blond begins. "I'm gonna be really patient, and we'll see what we can get done."

"Are you telling him or reminding yourself?" Nico laughs and the Mer watches curiously as Jason sends the brunet a glare.

"Alright, Percy. First trick, something simple."

Jason reaches into the bucket and pulls out a sweet-smelling mackerel. A little on the small side, but nothing Percy would turn his nose at.

Then the weirdest thing happens. The blond twirls on the spot and blows the whistle once. Percy cringes and ducks lower into the water. He watches as the human repeats the action and then once more. Each time looking expectantly at Percy when he finishes. The young Mer cocks his head to the side and furrows his brow. _Surely Jason didn't expect him to copy? Like an octopus? The nerve._ If the blond wasn't going to feed him, then Percy had no reason to stay in his presence. He dives back down under the surface. Bitterly ignoring the screeching sound of the whistle with his hands over his ears, and finally, the footsteps as both humans sound as they leave.

"Told you that wasn't going to work. He's too intelligent for that."

"Shut up, Di Angelo."

Percy's stomach growls a little at the injustice, the feeling is replaced quickly by a crushing guilt as he snaps up the fish he had saved for Nico. But he's annoyed and angry and hungry. None of which mix well. He wonders what had changed and sulks at not being able to understand.

 _Maybe this was a one off?_ But if by chance, it's not, Percy just not sure how long his resolve and pride would be able out match his growing hunger.

.

..

...

Jason continues his bizarre behaviour, with and without Nico present. He repeatedly teases Percy with fish, and as the young Mer's stomach crawls, he grows more violent. Snapping at the human and hissing when he tries to approach. Percy doesn't want to, _not really_ , but instinct wins out. The drive to hunt, to survive can become very powerful. More so than act of self-preservation, born of fear of humans that use to cause him to flee. He knows that with each passing moment, that feral side of himself begins to emerge and his control weakens.

As the young Mer circles his pool and broods, he battles his pride.

The light above has followed the same pattern for five days and so has Jason. It seems brighter, painfully so, and there's no respite, no break, no days. Percy loses more than just sleep. He's completely dead on his fins and past the point of exhaustion. And somehow, Jason appears exactly the same. He repeats the action again and again and again, and seems so lost at Percy's despondence.

And then, even the hunger becomes more bearable than both the fatigue and loneliness. There's comfort in socialising, of being around others, but he'll find no such refuge here, no grounding. And as time stretches, Percy feels more out of control. More unhinged. Singing is the only escape from his hunger and soon it is all he finds himself doing.

Maybe minutes, maybe hours but at some point, although Percy doesn't remember, he fell silent. Head falling forward, only for him to jolt awake and then repeat.

It's dark when splashing wakes him from half-awareness. Shadows dance across the bottom of the pool with the now gentle current, and Percy sleepily notices one which moves differently to the others. Looking up, the shock of the lack of light is enough to bring a dazed smile to Percy's lips. His eyes brighten feverishly at the silhouette hovering just at the pool's edge, and more importantly, within his reach.

A wicked thought crosses Percy's mind.

The young Mer shoots upwards, powerful fins breaking the still waters and grabs the unsuspecting human. Never before has he been so moved to drown one their kind. Tugging him under without a second thought, a sickening sense of achievement bloats Percy's stomach. He drags the human deeper and holds him there forcefully.

It's not till arms wrap firmly around his chest that the young Mer actually takes a proper look at his victim. Black jacket and soft brown hair billows in the currents created by his tail. Terrified familiar features meet Percy's half-formed snarl.

 _Nico_.

The colour bleeds from the Mer's face and his ears flatten in shame. Nico tries to pull away, but Percy is stronger, he changes direction with ease and drags the human back up to the surface. The brunet clings tightly to him and the contact fills Percy with warmth.

He lets go then.

Guilt wiggles inside Percy's chest as Nico fights his way back to the pool's edge. It settles down in his core and weighs on his slight frame like sea stone. He watches the human struggle to pull himself out, coughing and spluttering as he tries to take a deep breath.

Percy returns to the water, brushing his hair to the side as it floats across his line of sight. He'd let himself revert to such basic instincts, he'd almost drowned Nico. Horror washes through his body. Maybe. . _. maybe he can be forgiven?_ But there's no certainty of that for the young Mer as he beats his fins cautiously and resurfaces. Keeping low, Percy waits for the human to notice him.

Nico had pulled his boots off and was emptying them of water. He froze mid-action seeing the young Mer. Fear flashes across his hazel eyes and disgrace nearly drowns Percy.

"I brought you something to eat." He explains. "I hope- hope you don't hate Jason, he's not doing this because he wants to. My dad can be unreasonable sometimes, well most of the time really," Nico admits. "And he asked something unfairly of Jason."

The brunet stops ranting and sighs looking at Percy.

"Thank you. . . Thank you for not drowning me. I thought for a second. . ." He trails off.

The Mer watches Nico with regretful eyes as he eases himself to his feet, especially with the dawning realisation, the sight of a metal pale by the human's side brings.

A moment, then another.

Percy winces at the shivers that start to rack the brunet's body. Jacket, shirt and boots are soon discarded on the ground revealing sun-kissed skin and well-toned muscles. Water runs down Nico's chest and Percy feel his breath hitch. The brunet would make a fine merman. The thought brings a faint blush to his cheeks and Percy quickly shakes his head to dispel the redness. When he looks up again, it's with a sinking heart that he watches the human reach into the bucket and pull out a fish. _Did Nico intend to follow Jason's lead?_

The Mer bolts. Settling on the pool floor, Percy draws his tail close to his chest and tries his best to ignore his aching stomach. He whines to himself and feels each breath grow shaky. And then-

 _SPLASH_.

Percy's eyes snap open. Senses kicking into overdrive, the faint scent of fish passes through the water and the Mer's eyes narrow to slits at the stream of bubbles that whizzes past. It moves quickly, but he is quicker. Catching the red snapper between his teeth and extending his fangs to bite down hard. The sweet taste of blood washes over Percy's tongue and the little fish is no more.

 _SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH. SPLASH._

Percy moves as fast as his damaged fins will allow, but after only four fish, his stomach starts to protest and to be honest he feels sick. Maybe Nico notices that he's slowed, because he throws only one more. Hanging midway in the waters, the Mer watches as the last fish tries to conceal itself in the shadows. But Percy's eyes are too well refined, able to track the smallest of movements. He storms forwards and catches it, of course he catches it, _what kind of a predictor would he be if he couldn't?_ Slowly, cautiously, Percy breaches the surface. Nico had already half-retreated, and so in a panic, the young Mer drops the snapper on the pool's edge and coos after the human. The brunet spins round. Shock crosses his features followed by a small smile as he reaches back into the bucket. Nico frowns and stops mid-action, noticing the fish Percy has deposited at the side. He steps forwards hesitantly.

"Is that for me?" Nico asks, his tone leaves no debate that it's a question.

So with hands firmly holding onto the side, the Mer nudges the fish towards him with his nose and coos again. He watches as the human gives him a second chance, crouches down and approaches. Metal bucket forgotten behind. They're close, closer than Percy thinks he's ever willingly permitted one of them to be. Carefully, Nico scopes up the fish with one hand, never once breaking eye contact. And then slowly, with his other hand moves towards Percy's head. At first, he fails to release what Nico is intending to do and then it clicks. So as the brunet's hand moves closer, Percy ducks down at the same pace.

He raises his hackles in warning but doesn't hiss, he's already done enough damage. Maybe he could let the human do this? No one is here to play witness.

Nico hands stops moving and stays steady. Percy frowns as he realises the brunet is waiting for him to move. So hesitantly, and against everything his mother and father had ever taught him, the young Mer beats his fins to push upwards against Nico's hand. There's a moment where time seems to stand still. Percy's eyes lock with kind hazel ones. The purr that leaves his lips is as much of a surprise to him as it appears to be for the human. Nico relaxes and begins slowly racking his fingers though Percy's hair. It's pleasant and calming, the sort of contact his body and mind have been craving. He soaks up the feeling like he's basking in the summer sun. Content and happy to stay in this position.

The sound of metal hinges spooks the Mer and he darts away from Nico's touch, leaving a splash in his wake.

Raised voices, footsteps, silence follows. The lights remain off and as the seconds stretch to minutes, Percy relaxes. Curling up, he lets exhaustion carry him to oblivion. Not a single care for what awaits him tomorrow.

.

..

...

 _Please review and let me know what you think :) x_


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